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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27120767">hand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofthelotus/pseuds/talesofthelotus'>talesofthelotus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>XINGTOBER 2020 [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Gen, Implied Relationships, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:14:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27120767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofthelotus/pseuds/talesofthelotus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>there is a house.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zhang Yi Xing | Lay/Unnamed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>XINGTOBER 2020 [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959373</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>hand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The house on the lake is generally avoided. It stands right in the middle of it, on a piece of land that could barely fit two cars side by side, small and probably the result of the work and sweat of a sole person, homely in its imperfections. The brave men of the village say it’s just an old storage room.</p>
<p>The windows of the house are made of stained glass, artworks placed too far away to be able to tell what they depict. Both at dawn and dusk the sun pierces through just right for the colors to reflect on the surface of the water. These become Yixing’s favorite time to fish.</p>
<p>The wise men of the village say nothing about the house. At least not openly, but they’re given their title for a reason, and the village doesn’t question them.</p>
<p>The door is of iron, strangely painted a dark green. Birds like it and make their nests near. They stay undisturbed.</p>
<p>Yixing says nothing about the house as well. He is not a wise man, nor a brave man. He was a stupid man, once, years ago, when the clouds were low in the sky and the thunder could be heard and his dog ran away and he ran after it. One second he found himself on his boat and another second he found himself under it.</p>
<p>It’s a catalog. The next morning he found the boat crushed on some rocks, splintered wood floating near them. He found a scab of a gash on his temple. He didn’t find water in his lungs. He found himself alive, in the house in the middle of the lake.</p>
<p>He has found himself alive in the house in the middle of the lake many times since.</p>
<p>He is not a wise man, nor a brave man, but, now, he is a man in love.</p>
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